NEW! - WINTER VACATION TRIP

Yagilu Presents

European Urban Adventure

8 day backpacking adventure through Europe

Led by R Chaim Katz and R Tani Prero

Our children enjoy so much comfort. At home they have everything they need, Baruch Hashem: food whenever they want, transportation and money to pay for it, and lots of entertainment options. Today’s technology has brought us many comforts and advancements. Along the way though, we’ve lost touch with some very important skills. Self awareness, responsibility, and communication have become more of a challenge.

We’ve designed an amazing adventure that will strengthen these lost arts. On this European Urban Adventure, teens will get to make choices realizing that they have limited resources. They will develop friendships, learn resilience, and how to make good decisions. They will choose their path and set their own directions.

The Program:

8 amazing days of international adventure, teamwork, and simple living. The boys will journey between cities and countries, while learning to ask help from locals. At the same time, the boys will contribute to the communities that they pass through. They will visit underprivileged communities, volunteer and help them out, visit amazing Jewish and historical sites, learn about themselves and about others.

They will develop important skills, such as confidence in their decision making, and they will learn to delay gratification and deal with uncertainty. They will learn to enjoy fewer comforts while learning to relish the process of adventure. They’ll learn to search and find the good in other people and in every situation, and realize how much their behavior affects the people and environment around them. They will also manage their own limited finances on the trip.

Sample Schedule (Subject to change)

Motzai Shabbos – Depart for Kiev airport.

Sunday – Arrive in Kiev, Ukraine. Meet each other, opening activities. Sleep in Kiev at Podol Inn in the Jewish Center

Monday – Volunteer in local Jewish community center. Morning BrainStorm. Choose your own adventure.

At this point there are 3 options.

Ukraine to Moldova to Romania to Hungary to Slovakia to Czech republic.
Ukraine to Poland to Czech Republic
Ukraine to Romania to Bulgaria to Serbia to Hungary to Austria to Czech Republic

Then, it’s time to hit the trail.

Shabbos along the way in Krakow or Budapest, depending on the choice.

On Shabbos we will celebrate the successes of the adventure, with geshamke davening, delicious food, and time to reflect on our accomplishments as individuals and as a group.

The adventure culminates in Prague with a celebration banquet.

Sunday – Fly back home from Prague!

Transportation:

Travel by way of public transportation, only in countries where the transportation is known to be 100% safe.

Where will they sleep?

Sleep in hostels with rooms all to ourselves, or on sleeper cars in trains. These rooms are locked from the inside, so everyone can enjoy a restful and secure night’s sleep. We will also sleep in Jewish guest houses.

Food

All food on the trip is shared, so please come ready to share whatever you bring! We will buy the rest of the food locally on the way. Obviously, all food is kosher and prepared in kosher keilim. Every city has its own local rabonim and kashrus supervision. We have relationships with them and are in touch with them.

The Trip Budget

This is where it gets interesting! One goal of this trip is for the adventurers to learn to make decisions and take responsibility for them. They will also get to do this as a group, and develop skills of negotiation, listening and leadership. In order to achieve these goals, we have devised a daily budget.

Our trip budget allots per each boy $25 per day to spend on whatever they choose. This includes food and drink, a place to sleep and transportation. There will be some options for the participants to buy on their own, and some places where the boys can shop for souvenirs with their own money.

The welcome dinner and the closing banquet are not included in this budget. All Shabbos meals and melave malka are also not included in the budget. We will honor the Shabbos and eat like kings!

Price of the Trip:

$2200. This price does not include the cost of the flight or personal travel and medical insurance.

People who sign up and pay by Dec 15 will receive a $200 discount.

Safety:

Two expert guides will lead the trip. Rabbi Tani Prero has 20 years experience of safely leading boys in the wilderness, most notably in Camp Yagilu Wilderness. Rabbi Chaim Katz has led over 100 trips like this, in Israel, Europe and Asia. He knows the places that are safe to adventure, and the places to stay away from. He has led so many transformative adventures and is excited to share this – one of his favorite trips!

The trip will also be accompanied at all times by a first-aid.

We plan to update parents every day through email, so you’ll know what’s going on day to day, and you’ll get to see the great fun your son is having!

FAQ’s

Who will lead the trip?
Rabbi Tani Prero and Rabbi Chaim Katz. These two make an amazing team, and they each have many years of experience leading adventurers in a safe, growth oriented manner.
Have you done this kind of trip already?
Yes! Chaim runs the Gisha Center based in Israel, He has been leading trips in Eastern Europe since the year 2000.
What are the goals of this adventure?
This trip will create an enormous amount of fun, satisfaction, challenge, and growth. The boys will gain real life skills, and will make important decisions that will define their experience. We will place an emphasis on working together with the group, accepting differences, creativity, dealing with uncertainty, and dealing with pressure. Participants will discover that they have important skills. On the other hand they will come to recognize some areas of weakness, and turn to their friends to learn from them.

When we volunteer in the Jewish communities, the boys will give to others and feel what it’s like to do chesed in a personal and meaningful way. This will open the teens up to the Torah values of chesed.

All together this is going to be one powerful experience!
What’s the itinerary?
We will start in Kiev and spend the night in the Podol Inn, located in the center of the Jewish community of Kiev. We will finish in Prague. Along the way there are 3 options that the boys will get to choose together! Then the boys will come home loaded with stories and memories!
How involved are the staff on this trip?
The staff will certainly guide the process and make sure everyone is safe. They will facilitate, allowing the boys to make important decisions on their own. They will step in fully to make sure the boys are safe from any danger, whether it is physical, spiritual, or emotional. They will also gives tips and lessons on how to make decisions and get along with the other members in the group.
Do you provide food?
Yes! Every day we will provide food. The boys will learn to thrive on a budget, and they will decide how to spend their money wisely. This will affect how much food and what kind of food they have each day.

On the first and last days, we will eat well. On Shabbos too, we will honor Shabbos with delicious feasts. And during the week the boys will learn to make smart decisions to eat healthy, tasty and, of course, kosher.
Where will they sleep?
We’ve got a budget for that too! You can easily get by on 8 Euro a night. In private hostel rooms and sleeper cars on trains, the adventurers will feel comfortable and safe.
What’s the deal with this low budget?!
It will help the boys focus on using resources in the most efficient ways. It will help us focus on the important things in life. It certainly will provide for creativity and will serve as a platform for many bonding experiences with the other adventurers.
What gear do I need to bring with?
After you sign up, you’ll receive a full packing list. Here’s what you shouldn’t bring:

Don’t bring a smartphone. When you bring it anyway, please let your parents know that you arrived safely and that you are giving in your phone to the trip leaders. It is very important that you give in your cell phones – smart or otherwise – upon arrival!
1. Credit card! We will collect all credit cards when the boys arrive, and of course we will return them upon completion of the trip. In case of emergency, the boys will certainly have their cards to use.
2. No headphones or MP3 players. Musical instruments are welcome!
3. No video games.
4. We will bring a camera for everyone to share. Each day another adventurer can use the camera to capture the many awesome moments we will experience. We will post pictures so you can see them all. We will send you a great video when it’s all over. This way, you’ll also get to jump in fully to the adventure of a lifetime!